GRAND RAPIDS, MI – Mary Vermeer Andringa says her background as a kindergarten teacher serves her well as CEO of an international, family-owned company that makes agricultural, construction, environmental and industrial equipment that is sold around the world.

“You have to be able to plan ahead, you have to be able to communicate and you have to be able to motivate,” said Andringa, a 1972 Calvin College graduate who heads her family-owned company, Vermeer Corp. of Pella, Iowa.

Andringa, who also is the first female chair of the National Association of Manufacturers, is in Grand Rapids today to address the Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce’s Winter Advocacy Event at the JW Marriott Hotel.

In an interview with MLive prior to her speech, Andringa said she is headed next to Washington, D.C., where she plans to meet with President Barack Obama’s Export Council.

Andringa also wants to get a first-hand look at the “fiscal cliff” debate that has pre-occupied Congress and the Obama Administration. The “fiscal cliff” refers to a Jan. 1 deadline, when automatic federal spending cuts would be triggered and tax burdens will increase substantially for most Americans.

As a manufacturer, Andringa said she worries that the cliff’s tax increases are going to inhibit their customers from making equipment purchases.

That customer base includes mining companies that are considering the purchase of a large surfacing mining machine weighing more than 400,000 pounds or small rental businesses considering the purchase of a small stump grinder, she said.

Andringa, whose company employs 3,000 workers and exports to 70 countries across the world, said worries that the “fiscal cliff” have already stalled sales.

MLive will attend Andringa’s keynote speech today and provide additional coverage in the “Comments” section of this article.